Washington’s Top News – Thursday, July 31, 2014

A sharply divided House approved a Republican plan Wednesday to launch a campaign-season lawsuit against President Barack Obama, accusing him of exceeding the bounds of his constitutional authority. Obama and other Democrats derided the effort as a stunt aimed at tossing political red meat to conservative voters. The vote to sue Obama was 225 to 201. Five conservative Republicans voted with Democrats in opposing the lawsuit. No Democrats voted for it.

President Barack Obama is pushing government contractors to stop violating labor laws if they want to keep taking federal money.

The White House says Obama will sign an executive order Thursday requiring contractors to divulge any labor violations in the past three years when they seek large contracts. The order also requires that workers be given information to help them determine whether their paychecks are accurate.

It’s easy to think that the online retailing giant has the lowest prices on everything. But a reporter for MarketWatch says that’s not always true. Find out what items you can trust Amazon on, and which things you might be able to get for less elsewhere.

When Yukia Walker couldn’t find a wedding dress that fit her well, she and her sister, Yuneisia Harris, decided to ensure that other women wouldn’t have the same problem. They opened the salon Curvaceous Couture to cater to plus-sized brides – and TLC has noticed. The special “Curvy Brides” airs Friday. WTOP’s Living editor, Rachel Nania, talks with the sisters about what filming was like and the philosophy of their store.

Think “airport lounge” and you probably think of a room run by an airline or a credit card company and that caters to the high rollers as they await their flights. But a new company run out of an area airport has another idea – a lounge with Wi-Fi, snacks, wine and coffee, all for a price the average traveler can afford. On our Entertainment page, editor Alicia Lozano finds out where you can go for some affordable luxury – and how much it costs.

Next month, golfers will gather at courses around the country for the World’s Largest Golf Outing, which is exactly what it sounds like. On our Sports page, Noah Frank talks with the organizers about their goals for the event and who benefits. There’s also a list of participating area courses, so you can get in a round and help out too.

A man on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in connection with a 2008 rape and homicide has been captured and brought to Louisiana, where the crime took place. The FBI reports on its website that Jose Manuel Garcia Guevara surrendered to authorities in Mexico and was returned to Lake Charles, Louisiana, Wednesday morning.

Guevara is accused of breaking into 26-year-old Wanda Barton’s home in Lake Charles on Feb. 19, 2008, raping her and then stabbing her to death in the presence of her then-4-year-old stepson. He was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list last year. His was the 499th name to be added to the list, which was started in 1950.

The government’s key witness in the corruption trial for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has testified that he gave McDonnell and his wife money because it was a business relationship, not because they were friends.

Jonnie Williams took the stand Wednesday afternoon under the cloak of immunity. Williams is a colorful car salesman-turned-venture capitalist and the former chief executive of Star Scientific Inc., a Virginia-based company. Prosecutors say Williams gave the McDonnells more than $165,000 in secret gifts, cash and loans in exchange for promoting his product.

She once called Donald Trump “a maggot, a cockroach and a crumb.” This week, he remembered her as “an impossible person.”

The woman who became a folk hero for resisting decades-long efforts by big-name developers like Trump to displace her Atlantic City boardinghouse is now 91 and, apparently, the victor. Vera Coking has moved to California to be near her family.